"There is no more legendary object in the history of Chinese porcelain," he said.

"This is an object bathed in mythology.

"It has gone to an extraordinarily good home in Shanghai in the collection of Liu Yiqian."

Bidding started at more than $20 million, with Mr Liu putting up the winning bid over the telephone after a lengthy battle among hopeful buyers.

A taxi-driver turned financier, 50-year-old Mr Liu is one of China's wealthiest people and among a new class of Chinese super-rich scouring the globe for artwork.

Worth an estimated $1.6 billion and with two museums to his name, Mr Liu made headlines in the art world when he bought a Song-era scroll for $8.2 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York in September - only to have it dismissed as a fake by a trio of renowned experts.